Goodwill holds job fair in Yuma on Thursday

Yuma-area residents seeking jobs or career changes will have the chance this week to meet face-to-face with representatives of businesses and organizations around the county that are offering employment.

Goodwill of Arizona is sponsoring a job fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday at the Yuma Civic Center, 1440 W. Desert Hills Drive.

Marco Garcia, director of Yuma Mission Services for the agency, said the fair is expected to bring together more than 40 employers offering among them more than 700 positions in retail, manufacturing, medical offices, the hospitality industry, call centers, vegetable packing operations and the public sector.

Employers expected to attend include Horizon Human Services, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Yuma-area school districts, Old Navy, ACT Call Center, AllState Call Center, Safety Services, Swift Trucking Co., Sunset Community Health, Ramco Enterprises, SOS Staffing, and Denny's and Mimi's restaurants, among others.

The job fair is free and open to the public. Those attending can register in advance by 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Goodwill office, 1600 S. 4th Ave., Suite A. Registration will also be taken at the door the day of the job fair.

This will be the third job fair that Goodwill has offered in the Yuma area over the past year.

The first held a year ago attracted about 2,500 people, Garcia said. A second in May drew more than 1,100 job seekers.

In following up on the 2,500 who attended last year's job fair, about 1,000 were employed within the next few months, Garcia said.

It likely was through a variety of job-seeking efforts, of which the job fair was one resource they took advantage of, he noted.

“I was happy with that,” he said. “This is our mission. Our motto is we put people to work.”

Residents who attend the fair should dress professionally, Garcia said. “People have an opportunity to make a good first impression on potential employers even if they're not interviewing. It can open the door to job opportunities.”

He continued: “This is a market where people compete for jobs. They need to be proactive in their appearance and resumes and what they bring to the table. We encourage people to attend because they will have the opportunity to meet face to face with the people behind the organizations. They should take advantage of the opportunity.”

For more information, call Goodwill at 783-4190 or visit www.goodwillaz.org.

Yuma Sun Staff Writer Joyce Lobeck contributed to this report.